Morning loneliness (open)

The sun just rising over the ocean, a scene the women sitting on the porch steps, her dainty feet tapping against the wooden steps in beat to her mp3 player. The wooden steps gave a familiar creak with each tap. It was far too early to be up, but she hadn’t slept at all that night. She had been too busy worrying about where she was going to get money to feed herself and her cat. Not that she needed real food but it was still a nice thing to have.

Her small kitten Coco was lying in the grass. Her fur half soaked with dew from the grass. Soft purrs and snores came from the kitten but they refused to reach Moya’s ears through her loud music. Even the constant creaking didn’t reach her.

Clearly written above her head on boards hanging from the porch roof were the words Physic of Karakura. The road was empty that early in the morning, and no other houses were near her little cottage. That was what she got for living in a rural area. The mountains were close and she often worried about demons that didn’t exist.

Moya’s fingers twisted and danced together and she mumbled names of different demons to herself. “Black shuck, Bakeneko, Akaname , Amikiri, Aoandon, Hannya.” Each demon’s name she listed under her breath was fearsome in its own way. A shiver ran through her back as she thought about the black shuck. A violent coughing fit following pursuit.

Black shucks were her favorite thing to investigate, but the more she learned about the fearsome shape shifting creatures the more she was afraid of them. They were known to haunt lonely roads, exactly what she was staring at right now. Yet they must have a heart unlike hollows. They were also known to protect women walking alone at night.

Moya laughed to herself, disturbing the young cat in the grass that turned to look at her. Moya never believed demons existed. They just interested her. Yet it wasn’t uncommon for her to silently pray she was being protected by a black shuck when she walked down these streets at night. She would rather a shuck find her than a hollow. It wasn’t like her life could get worse, and it couldn’t really kill her.

Akira strode down the road on one of his meaningless wanderings. Things had been pretty boring in Karakura lately with only an occasional hollow appearance. What made it worse was tha many times the shinigamis would beat him to the scene and steal the kill from him. His drive to slay the heartless monsters was growing impatient as the level of activity remained dry. In an effort to relax, he and his doll Sirene had chosen to take this walk to the more outer areas of Karakura, away from the central hustle and bustle of the more inhabited area.

Sirene herself was enjoying the time away from the normal passtime of training and hollow hunting. Skipping down the street with her little feathery wings flapping lightly with her steps, she laughed as she breathed the early morning air and watched the sun rising. Akira let out a light smile at the sight of it all, glad that they'd come out to do this. Walking always helped him to calm down somehow.

Sirene stopped suddenly and turned her head towards a tiny building beside the road. With nobody else up and about at this time, it had not been hard for her to pick out the sounds of a loud mp3 player playing music on the porch. Akira caught up with her and looked in the direction she was staring. Sitting on the porch was a woman listening to music and tapping her foot to the beat. Akira noted the sign above her.

"Psychic of Karakura...interesting." He figured he had nothing better to do at this time of day and walked up the stone walkway to the porch. As he made his way across, Sirene squealed and ran onto the grass apparently having spotted a kitty cat. Standing at the foot of the stairs, Akira addressed the woman while Sirene knelt down and tried to pet the cat. "Good morning. What kind of psychic work to you do here?"

At the sound of a squeal Coco was startled and so was Moya. Moya being thrown into a tiny coughing fit from sucking in the cold morning air. Her fingers found the cracking dragon egg charm under her jacket but found nothing that could harm her ass he took her headphones off. A young appearing women was running over to the stunned Coco. "Good morning. What kind of psychic work to you do here?" The words dragged her attention from the girl to a boy. Well man would put it better he looked about eighteen.

“I work with haunted places.” She replied quietly. “You know protecting people from evil spirits and such. Things like that. I don’t believe in fortune telling and that card gimmick.” Moya stood and walked down the creaking steps to stand in front of him. Her short stature to causing her to have to look up at him. Her gaze wandered back to the girl. Wings sprouting from her back, but she seemed very happy sitting and petting Coco who was becoming calmer.

Moya hadn’t expected to see anyone this morning. She wondered if he had any work for her though she doubted it. The charm hanging on her leg burned against her flesh. Tatsu was restless, sensing something she didn’t. “It’s a pretty far walk from town would you like to come inside. Have some tea maybe?” Moya offered attempting to be polite. A small smile on her face, it wasn’t everyday she had such cute company.

Wait…Damn it there goes my teenage mode acting up again. Don’t the hormones of this body ever calm down?! Moya began mentally scolding herself for acting like a child. She was more than a hundred years old. You would think she would have out grown that by now.

Akira's face politely formed a thin smile in response to the woman's offer. She seemed alright, but he coud faintly sense a power coming from something on her body. She definitely wasn't one of those fake psychics that preyed on people's gullible nature. And by her definition of her work, she had probably come across hollows in the past. Perfect. Maybe she can be an ally in the future. He thought as he made his way up onto the porch. He wasn't so thrilled about entering her home so suddenly when he couldn't tell what that power coming from her was, but he didn't want to appear rude and ruin the conversation either.

"That sounds nice. Thank you." he replied in a sweet tone that was probably a bit too nice for the situation. Putting up a front of trust before actual such feelings could be established was a tiring ordeal. He hoped that he could confirm her to be a friendly aquaintance or an enemy soon so he could drop the act. Still not knowing what her position here was, he decided to bring along some insurence. "Sirene, come along." he called over his shoulder as he walked to the door and held it open for the girls to walk in first.

Coco ran over to Moya and climbed up her leg leaving little pinpricks behind. A tiny drop of blackish blood slipped from one cut as the cat crawled into the hood hanging on her back. Moya shook her head softly walking inside. She hadn’t expected him to accept. She was glad she had her weapons hidden in her basement.

Inside the house it was rather simple. All the furniture was rather dark, and the fireplace had been left unlit. No television was seen in the room. Moya went to the kitchen quickly, gesturing them to go ahead and sit on her couch. She began pulling out the items to make the tea. She left the kettle of water on the heating stove. She glanced out the window half hoping she would see something. Only a barren grassy landscape met her eyes. Well that and the mountains looming up and shadowing over her home.

Moya could feel that tingling in her stomach again. She was afraid of exactly what he was. What if he was a shinigami that came to kill her? Than it sank into her mind, that girl had wings. They looked so real too. Leaning against the counter she listened to see if she could hear anything. She was so intent on trying to hear them once the kettle whistled she let out a shriek and her hand accidently hit the kettle.

She fell backwards on her but and stared at her already reddening hand. Coco’s claws were digging into her shoulders, but it was nothing compared to the heat on her hand. She had been hit by Tatsu’s blood before and that had hurt a lot. Right now though this was her pain, and she couldn’t think straight enough to go to her sink and put her hand under some water.

Moya pulled her knee’s to her chest and stared at her hand that was tightly gripped in the other. Tears pricked at her blood red eyes. She felt utterly stupid. He would think now that she was some kind of retard playing magic. “I’m so useless.” She muttered mimicking the voice of one of her childhood bullies.

Akira thought the house's interior was rather simple, but livable. Before coming to Karakura, he and Sirene had mostly been wanderers moving from place to place all around Japan. A nice peaceful home like this would have made him feel better through the years, but he'd been paranoid about people's reactions when they discovered that he didn't age, so he had never stayed in one spot for too long.

He sat on the couch he was gestured towards and remained deep in thought over just what this woman was. She wasn't a shinigami. The power he'd felt coming from her hadn't felt quite the same and her body was definitely a living one. That still left many possibilities for her identity however, with no way to narrow it down unless she was somehow goaded into heightening her reiatsu. He sighed as Sirene sat next to him looking all around the sitting room excitedly, still enjoying the day and the thought of making a new friend. "Such a carefree doll you are." he muttered before the kettle whistled, leading to a crazy chain of events.

Akira turned at the sound of the woman's screech and her following thump as she fell to the floor. Rising up to investigate, he found her hunched up on the kitchen floor clutching her hand with tears forming in her eyes. He sighed again, this time in a sort of relief. There was the small possibility that this was all a front like his own excessive politeness, but she didn't seem to be much of a threat at the moment. Akira began to relax a little more. He got down on one knee to lower himself to the floor and take a look at the burn she was suffering from. His face was now more expressionless and his voice a dull monotone, more like his normal behavior.

"A little clumsy, aren't you?" he said with a mischievous smirk. Not waiting for an answer, he made a movement to help her up. Then he paused for a second. He'd just noticed the dark blood coming from one of the small cuts her cat hat put on her leg earlier. That hinted that she wasn't exactly human. Could it be?... he pondered as he finished pulling her to her feet.

"Come here for a second." he said flatly while gently pulling her to the sink. He turned on the faucet and held her hand under the flow of water. While they were under the water, he clasped both his hands around hers and focused a tiny bit. He hadn't tried this trick before, so it quite difficult, but he was determined to prove his suspicion. Gathering trace amounts of spirit power from the air in the house, he guided them to his hands, which in turn surrounded the girl's hand with energy. In a few seconds, the burn on her hand glowed for a moment before disappearing. Akira lifted his gaze to stare directly into her red eyes.

"You're a bount aren't you?"

Moya didn’t even bother to look up as he came in and she wasn’t listening. The whistling kettle still far away from her mind, she wasn’t even worried about touching it right now. In a silent relief she was glad Tatsu wasn’t out or he would scold her for being stupid again, not that he wouldn’t later.

Moya looked up with a shocked face as she was pulled up and over to the sink. The cold water felt soothing on her burning hand. She stared at him, his hands kindly warm around hers. Why is he holding my hands? A strange feeling formed around her hands light glowed from the burn. The pain easing away from her body, "You're a bount aren't you?"

Her eyes fell to look at his hands clasped around hers. She stood there silently. She didn’t answer. She was afraid, too afraid to move. She wasn’t really processing what was happening. The tickling from her belly grew. Climbing up her throat slowly until she was violently coughing. He knew what she was. Was he going to persecute her like other people did. How did he know what a bount was?

A metallic taste overcame her mouth and black blood spilled from her lips into the sink. A few drops splashing onto her arms. It mixed with the water becoming foggy as is whirl pooled down the drain. Yet she was still too afraid to meet his eyes. Now more than ever seeing as how she had her blood on her mouth.
Her coughing started going away and now it was just a high pitched cough like she was losing her voice. Fear was the only thing to read in her eyes.

Akira stared curiously at her as she began to cough. He didn't think he'd done anything to bring about such a reaction. As the blood flowed from her mouth he took a handkerchief from his back pocket and calmly wet it with water from the sink before holding it out to her.

"Here. Wash your mouth off. You don't have to be that afraid of one of your own kind." He paused for a moment to let her clean herself before answering her unvoiced question. "You're probably wondering how I know what you are. I admit it was difficult. But after seeing your blood mixed with the fact that you're a living being, all I needed was confirmation from a little test. Your body naturally absorbed the spirit power I gathered around your hands to heal your burn. Our race is the only race I know of that does that."

Akira took a few steps back to try and appear less threatening and let her calm down. Looking over to the still whistling kettle, he saw Sirene standing in front of the stove trying to reach it in order to help out. He quickly strode over and took care of the chore for her, turning off the heat and removing the kettle from the hot surface. "Don't try and do things like that with your small body you fool. You don't want to end up like she did do you?"

He sighed again at the situation and returned his attention to the other bount. "I suppose this is a little late for this, but my name is Akira Usui. I am a bount like you. And this jumpy girl is my doll."

Moya took the piece of cloth and wiped at her mouth. She hadn’t seen one of these for a while. People used tissues and towels now. Her body suddenly went stiff as she heard him reveal he was a bount. She looked over at him. She stood blinking for a few seconds, still holding the handkerchief to her mouth.

Moya took a few deep breaths to stop herself from coughing. “I’m really sorry about that. I seem to do that whenever I get really nervous.” She let her head fall. It had always been an embarrassing fact. She watched him help the angel like girl.

“My name is Moya Ketsu.” She smiled softly. “You can call me strawberry though. I don’t like people using my real name. It’s too much a pain to change it after a few years.” Moya smiled softly. She lifted up her jacket revealing a pair of black shorts and a silver chain. Hanging from the chain was a charm. It was a dull black, seeming to be made from a blood stone. It looked like a large egg with cracks running through it. “This is Tatsu. He’s my doll, but if I let him take his real form hear he would break my house down.” She had a another reason she kept to herself. That was the facts he wasn’t in the mood to be scolded by the sadistic dragon.

Akira's eyes darted to the dark stone that hung on her leg. So that was her doll. It was probably also what he'd sensed earlier. He nodded in understanding when she explained why her doll was sealed. It wasn't normal for bounts to keep their dolls released as often as he did anyway. It was just a habit of his acquired from years of Sirene being his only companion.

"Strawberry...that name is interesting. Rather cute in a way." Akira looked around the house again before continuing. "This is only a guess, but I figure you're hiding from the shinigami? You seemed quite nervous a moment ago when I deduced what you are. If you feel like getting over that fear, you can come and join our group on the other side of Karakura. Like they say, there's safety in numbers. We have a home large enough to accommodate extra allies." He walked closer again and extended his hand in an invitation for a handshake.

Moya blushed furiously. Yet she shook her head softly as she took his hand in hers. “No you see back when I was a child I was bullied for being different from them. So I’m very skittish. “She explained to him. “I’ve lived here alone for many, many years. I don’t think being around a lot of people would be very good for me. I would lose more blood than I normally do. I mean you could have just said my hands were soft or something and I would have done the same thing.”

It was true she was very lonely without another bount around. Yet she could never be able to be surrounded by so many people. She slipped over to the kettle and made three cups of tea. She headed to the living room hoping he would follow. Out the window she could see a couple ride by on a motorcycle. She hoped he didn’t see the sadness and jealously in her eyes when she saw them pass by.

She took a seat on the couch, looking into her cup of tea. The blurry deaths of it pulling her into a sort of trance.
Her red eyes sad as it watched the small ripples from her breath. Her muted hair falling to cover her face. The comforting fire of her doll burned into her leg. It was a familiar feeling. It set her at ease even when the metal taste found it's way into her mouth. She looked up at Akira, her bangs falling to cover her eyes.

Akira nodded again as she explained her situation. He himself was new to the living with others lifestyle. He could understand how such a past would make her apprehensive to moving in with a bunch of strangers. He said nothing as she prepared the tea and headed back to the living room. He too saw the couple on the bike when they passed, and noticed a look on Moya's face that he couldn't place. It seemed sad, but something else too. Perhaps she was used to this lone lifestyle, but not satisfied with it.

Sitting down, he slowly began to sip at his tea. The room grew quiet as they sat in silence for a while. Akira still didn't know how strong she was, but his initial observation of her was that she was nice and hospitable. Maybe there was still hope of working with her in the future. He would just have to be a supporting comrade and help her with her nervousness. Such a thing wouldn't be difficult for him once he himself came to trust her.

"I can accept your reason for not wanting to join us, but I can't believe that you like staying here by yourself. Your face doesn't seem to suggest that you do. I lived alone for a while when I was young, before I met my teacher, then Sirene after him. I don't think I would ever want to go back to that loneliness."

Akira went silent again, not being the best at situations like these. Especially not with a new aquaintance whom he didn't know well yet. "If you want a friend, we're willing to grant that desire." He didn't know what else to say in this atmosphere. He'd had to remind himself that trust was a two sided relationship. He had to offer his own allegiance if he wanted to be able to get to know her.

“Yes it’s true I’m not really happy living alone. Once I left home I promised myself I would find somebody else like me. A lonely soul casted out by the world, it was a stupid wish though and I long ago gave up on such a hope. It just seems everywhere I go they all have somebody. I really just want to make those around me happy, but everyone already has someone who does that. I guess that’s why I hate seeing couples so much. As a bount human things like that are not for me.” Moya’s voice was soft and she closed her eyes with a soft smile. He seemed to be a kind person at heart. Maybe he just wanted to help her. “Truly I’m just glad I know there are still other bounts out there. I haven’t met one in a long time.”

Moya sipped at her tea. The sweet liquid washed away the remaining blood in her mouth and left a sweet flavor behind. “A friend would be nice, but I don’t want to be a burden. You don’t have to do that for me.” Moya replied reaching one hand behind her to pet the sleeping cat in her hood. A small restless purr reached her ears. Coco had been a good companion of hers for many years. The cat was strange almost never seeming to age. She wondered before if it was a ghost somehow managing to be in an artificial body. Moya never thought long about it though.

Moya looked back up at Akira again. Her bangs had fallen away from her eyes. A small light was lit there. Like the hearth of a fire. A little smile on her lips, secretly she was glad to have met him.

"It's no burden." Akira said immediately, but without a rise in the volume or intensity of his voice. His calm self was fully exposed now, a first sign that he was growing a little comfortable around Moya and dropping the over friendly facade. "No one deserves to be left alone." He let out a small smile to return Moya's after speaking. It was unlike his smile from before. This one was real and warmer.

"You said your doll would break you house if you let him out. What's he like?" Akira hoped that he wasn't being to nosy, but he wanted to learn more about this new bount. Sirene seemed excited by his question and eagerly leaned forward with her hands on her knees, her feet swinging wildly in front of the couch. "Yes yes! What's he like!?" Akira brought his hand up and flicked her forehead lightly. "Calm down Sirene." She always got excited around other dolls.

Moya gave a friendly smile. A friend, she really liked the thought of that. She had been alone for far too many years to count. It gave her a warm feeling in her heart that she had never felt before. Maybe it was happiness? Or maybe it was just simple satisfaction. She hoped her and Akira would e friends for a long time.

The room was calm, and the morning heat was starting to seep into the house. An excited Sirene began bouncing up and down at the mention of her doll. Moya put a thoughtful finger to her lip before softly leaning towards the two. She was looking at Sirene but speaking to the both of them. She grinned as she spoke. “He’s a big black dragon with bright yellow eyes. He has really sharp claws too, and he’s super mean. He likes to scold me like he’s my father.” She lowered her voice as she continued. “ Don’t tell him I said this but he also has really stinky breath." The charm on her leg began burning angrily. Moya gave a contented giggle at setting off Tatsu like that.

“If you want we can go outside so you can meet him. The weather is really nice out anyway.” Moya offered happily as she leaned back to sip down the last of her tea.

Akira let a light chuckle escape under his breath at his doll's expense as Moya described her own. Sirene's excited face had turned to a grimace of fear as the dragon was formed in her mind. Shivering violently, she clutched onto Akira's shirt tightly. "He sounds scary..."

"Let's go meet him." Akira stated without hesitation. He finished the last of his tea and stood up quickly, half dragging the still scared Sirene by his shirt which she wouldn't let go of. "If he's as she says he is, I don't think we'll have a problem getting along."

Akira walked out the front door and waited for Moya to come out so she could choose a spot to summon her doll. The sun was getting higher in the sky now and the rays shone down on the landscape creating a beautiful glow. A cool breeze was still blowing occasionally, causing Akira to shiver for a moment as he readjusted to the outdoor temperature.

Moya giggled a little, her sadistic side showing just a bit. She followed close behind Akira. She choose to go behind the house so that the cars would have a harder time finding them. She unclipped the egg from her chain. Soon a large black dragon was standing in front of her. His warm breath blew through his nose onto her. Her long hair blew back; She closed her eyes and giggled.

“So my breath smells now does it?” His voice echoed from no point. She had told a little fib. His breath smelled like ice. It was warm, but it smelled just like the cold fire he blew. Moya shook her head patting the dragon on the head. She turned around to face the two.

“This is Tatsu Hisame, I kind of lied about his breath. It actually smells pretty good.” Coco jumped onto the ground now pouncing on shadows. It seemed hew would never outgrow kitten hood.

“I thought I would smelt another bount. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen one other than Moya.” The dragon casually lay down while sizing up the two with his glowing eyes that seemed to pierce through souls. He pushed his head against Moya’s arm to say he had an itch he couldn’t reach on his nose, and moya quickly scratched it. A contented thrumming came from his chest.

“He’s a big meanie, don’t be fooled by his tiredness.” Moya muttered only to receive a whack with the dragon’s tail. She ended up falling face first at Akira’s feet.

Akira was impressed by the appearance of the doll. His size was amazing and his form was threatening. It made Sirene look all the more smaller and weaker. Her behavior didn't help the case either. With the arrival of the dragon, she had shrieked loudly and run behind Akira to hide. He snorted at the cowardice, but then sighed. There wasn't anything that could be done about it. And that cute personality of Sirene's was what he'd grown used to over the years. Akira himself was unafraid of the doll and struck up conversation with him at the first opportunity.

"I'm not the only one. This area seems to have a natural attraction for all types of spiritual beings. I've met many other bounts since coming here. Though many come and go as they please."

Akira watched as Moya and Tatsu interacted. He smirked as he swatted Moya with his tail and noted that their relationship seemed similar to his and Sirene's. Only difference was who was the bully. That role seemed to be the doll's with these two. Akira squatted down after Moya landed at his feet and laughed dryly.

"Still clumsy it seems." He offered a hand to help her back up. "He seems like an interesting comrade. And a good protector if you run into trouble."

The dragon watched Akira pick up Moya noting she must be comfortable with him as she clutched onto his white shirt and whined. “I’m not clumsy that big oompa loompa attacked me!” The dragon cocked his head to the side seeming confused at her remark.

“I am not orange and small so that makes no sense.” He muttered. “Yes I always figured more was here at the high level of ghosts that appear. Moya tends not to go anywhere much that isn’t work or food related. Than if she goes anywhere it’s to the mountains witch I don’t understand as she is afraid of them.”


Moya countered quietly under her breath letting go of Akira’a shirt but not turning to face Tatsu. “I am not.” Though her voice probably wouldn’t reach the dragon, Moya placed her hands on her hips and turned to the dragon. “And you are a oompa loompa! You just grew too big and mean for the candy factory so they kicked you out!” The dragon pushed her with his nose and blew cold air on her.

“Yes, yes I’m a giant black oompa loompa.” He purred darkly only to get a upset pout from the red eyed girl.

“It’s not fun when you agree with me.” She said crossing her arms. Definently.

As this back and forth between girl and doll continued, Akira suddenly found himself laughing. Not a quiet chuckle like he'd done before, but a stream of mirth that had him half bent over from the amusing nature of their conversation. It had been a long time since he'd felt carefree enough to laugh in such a way. Problems like dealing with hollows were absent from his mind as he fully enjoyed this time with their new friends. He regained control with some difficulty, realizing that his antics were probaly getting some weird looks from those present.

"I'm sorry. It's just too entertaining." A few more trickles of laughter broke through his control as he tried to completely settle down again. Then a new thought amused him. Reaching behind his back, Akira caught hold of Sirene who was still hiding behind him from Tatsu. He pulled her out from her hiding place and stepped closer to the dragon, talking with a teasing tone while they got closer.

"Didn't you hear him? He's just a big black oompa loompa. He won't bite...much."
He shoved Sirene forward the rest of the way, leaving her standing right in front of one of Tatsu's massive legs, staring scared stiff up at the dragon's face with a look of total nervousness plastered on her face.

On the windy road a figure walked with his arms resting on the back of his head he wore a white and black baret with the interior of a suit and tie with his sleeves rolled up. The figures name was Isaac Kennedy a man who wanders from place to place trying to find others like him for he wasnt an ordinary person he was actually over 700 years old and was called a bount a being that absorbs souls of the dead to sustain there youth. Isaac yawned as he walked the road the wind whipping at him but causing no real nuiscance. "Such a beatiful town this karakura is aint it Dalrag" Isaac said aloud catching the eyes of of passing by people making them think he was some sort of waco, but to who he was talking to was his stone bead bracelet which glowed dimly unoticable by others as it spoke telepathically to isaac. "How the hell am i supposed to know i cant see anything while sealed in this form" Dalrag said in his sarcastic dull tone as Isaac continued to walk the streets of Karakura.

Isaac ignored Dalrags comment when the prescence of some odd creature hit him it felt like the release of a doll but there was no way he could be this lucky to find another like him. Isaac followed the prescence to find a house with a sign that said "Psychic of Karakura" how odd such a place would be where a bount would stay isaac thought to himself as he walked onto the porch and knocked 5 times before looking around aimlessly. But ashe was looking around he caught the voices of people behind the house and went to investigate. As he neared the back his eyes caught with what appeared to be a large Dragon which was about 2 story smallers than dalrag but massive enough to give him a run for his money. The 3 others caught his attention a man with white hair with what appeared to be a little girl with wings which was odd to isaac and another woman standing near the dragon. Isaac stayed hidden in the shadow of the house watching from a distance to see where the confortation would go.

Moya smiled and sat on the ground with her legs spread. Watching Tatsu just in case something bad happened. Coco curled up on what remained of Moya's lap. Licking her paws and biting at fleas. Tatsu's yellow eyes floated from Akira to Sirene. He shifted his weight to curl up tighter so he appeared smaller. He knew he was large and intimidating. He lowered his head so that the girl could see eye-level with him. "I won't bite. I'm not allowed to anyway."

Moya exhaled not knowing she had been holding her breath in the first place. She looked up at Akira to see if his composure was okay or if he would crack again. A little smile plastered on her face from remembering him laughing. He didn't seem like the kind of person to laugh like that. This just seemed the perfect day to her.

A calm wind rolling in from the hills. The sun bright on her back, and not a cloud in the sky. She wasn't big on blue skies but today it just seemed right. She was glad the sun was behind her so she didn't need to shield her eyes. Beach season wasn't so far away and she couldn't wait. Tatsu sudden;y seemed rather uncomfortable. His yellow eyes twitching back from the shadows to the others.

Sirene slowly reached out with a shaking hand and lightly stroked the tip of Tatsu's nose. She repeated this process until the beast didn't seem so menacing anymore. A big smile spread across her face and she let out a laugh of enjoyment. Akira sighed with satisfaction. She was so simple, just like her childish appearance would suggest.

Akira raised an eyebrow questioningly as he noticed the change in Tatsu. Something seemed to have caught his attention. His actions were soon mirrored by Sirene, who immediately stopped what she was doing and ran back over to Akira since she'd sensed someone unfamiliar in the area. She pulled on his sleeve to make him bend down so she could talk quietly into his ear. "I heard someone out front. It sounded like he was at the front door."

Akira nodded and pet her on the head to relay his pleased opinion of her vigilance. Being a doll that manipulated sound, Sirene had an acute sense of hearing and an impressive awareness of almost all sounds in her immediate area, no matter how quiet. This was not the first time that ability had been useful to Akira. He stood back up and let the other two know what was going on. "It seems that you have another visitor. I guess you're pretty popular."

"Whats going on come one and tell me Isaac" Dalrag said mentally to isaac in his sealed form wondering about the other bount he so desired to meet especially the doll of hers. But Isaac remained quiet as he continued to watch from the shadows trying to stay unseen unti what appeaed t be the little girl with wings ran to the man with white hair and whispered in his ear. Isaac took no thought on this knowing he was discovered when the man in the white hair said that there was another visitor and she seemed popular. "Well, thought i could not be detected but oh well" Isaac mummered to himself as he exited from the shadows of the house rubbing the back of his head with a wide grin on his face.

"Well since it seems i was spotted its nice to meet you four the name is Isaac Kennedy and as you can tell im American" isaac said introducing himself without them even asking while stairing at the large dragon and whistling at its height. "You sure are a big one but still small compared to my friend" Isaac said letting a hint that he wasnt human but not that he was a bount. "well since you know my name may i ask you four yours" Isaac said politly as he continued scanning the dragons massive height.

"Yea kind of noticed how jumpy Tatsu was." Moya said softly. She reached her arms out to the dragon and he set his large head in her lap, after softly nudging the kitten away. He never really liked visitors. He knew how uncomfortable having to many people around made Moya feel. She pet the dragon on the muzzle keeping any direct eye contact with the new visitor from little to none.

He showed himself and commented on her doll. Leaving hints that he was a bount. At this point she didn't care. She just felt overly crowded and her throat felt sticky. The only thing keeping her calm was the cold of Tatsu's breath against her chest, and the feel of his silky scales under her fingers. She closed her blood red eyes to help keep herself calm. The kitten's cool paws seemed to burn against her thigh as it licked at her fingers every few seconds.

She kept her mouth shut tight. Moya was silently begging that Akira would say something so she wouldn't have to speak. If he was human she knew Tatsu wouldn't be so jumpy. If it was just another customer she could put on her smiling face and be done with it. Moya knew it wasn't a customer though. He must be another bount, and just that simple thought already made her feel crowded. Something inside her saying not to trust him.